Babel

Babel is one of the top films of 2006. It hits almost every emotion without overextending it. Writer Guillermo Arriaga has done a great job of incorporating 3-4 cultures into a story about the power of a single bullet shot. Director Alejandro Gonzalex Innaritu does a masterful job of commiting to four stories with great seperation and integrity. The first story is of a Moroccan family, which have two children who are playing with their gun and danger ensues. The second story is of the impact of the gun shot on American couple, played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. The third story is of a young Japanese def/mute woman and her battle to control her misery with the passing of her mother. The fourth story is of an illegal immigrant woman, played graciously by Adrianna Barazza and it tells the story of a woman trying to show her American kids her Mexican culture. All of these stories interrelate to battle some social/political issues like, immigration, sexuality, withdrawal, cultural conflict, murder, loss, passion, love and gun control. The best performances are by Rinko Kikuchi and Adrianna Barazza but everyone deserves major praise. It is hot with subtlety and precision. This is one of the strong films of teh year and joins Little Miss Sunshine, United 93 and Pan's Labyrinth as my best films of the year. Innaritu may be good enough to win a best director award. Innaritu and Arriaga shows us a perfect example of Post-Modern filmmaking, with his cultural interpretations.